Man there is just not enough time to get it all in.  There is so much to teach these eager young kids.  There is so much to do to this new home.  There is so much to tell Josh.  There are so many people to see.  AND I HAVE SO MUCH THAT I WANT TO BLOG ABOUT.  But me and time management have always had a bitter relationship.  Today, however, I am distracted my anything that is shiny or moves, so needless to say I am off of our daily routine, am wired on coffee beans and ready to write.

Today we are celebrating reading.  We pretty much celebrate reading everyday because we love to read but today is a real celebration. SO here is the story:

Bedtime takes time with 3 kids-actually, who am I kidding, it's not just the kids but the adults too.  Last night i drew a bath around 8 o'clock for the kids.  I hopped in too.  we ended up being in there for about an hour as i was teaching Spanish words to the kids and they loved it, lol.  we even had to drain the water because it got cold and refill with hot water.  anyway, once we were clean and jammies on and toofs brushed and bladders emptied we gathered in Joshua's room for Bible story time.  Read about the Earthquake in prison and prayed.  From there we always split up into our own snuggly spot and curl up with a book.  Emma started a new book and Ella started a new book too.  Ella is now reading chapter books!  By this time it was 9 o'clock and I told Ella we could read chapter one and then lights out.  Once we were through the chapter, she begged me to let her read more and who in their right mind would tell a 5 year old "no more reading"?  Not this mom!  I told her she could read a little while longer.  Emma, same thing-I went to turn off her bedroom light and she begged to leave her light on so she could read.  OK, fine.  So I went off to my room to read.  An hour went by and I saw no sign of the girls. [Ella was in her own bed and Emma was in her own bed.  A rarity!  Joshua was snuggled in my arms, fast asleep in my bed.]  I thought for sure everyone was asleep!  Well, soon after, Ella came in to report she was on Chapter 4!  She was so excited!  She crawled up in our bed and we layed there and talked.  Emma came walking in and said, I am already on Chapter 4!  I teased them that 4 was the magic number tonight!  Emma climbed up in bed to join in the fun.  There are now 5 in the bed.  We were encouraging the girls to settle down and go to sleep.  Ella asked if she could "pretty please read more of her book".  Well, I saw no problem in that and soon Ella, Emma and I were back to reading.

It got to be 11 and Ella was now to chapter 6.  Finally at 11:30, we forced our book worms to put their books down until tomorrow.  And we all went to sleep.

This morning I woke up to the sound of Ella reading aloud.  She was on chapter 7 of her Junie B Jones book!  She wasn't ready for breakfast, she was addicted to her book!  So, we layed in bed until 11:30 as she finished the entire book!  All 10 chapters!  This girl can't be stopped!  Nose in a book!  We are so proud of her!

Celebrate reading everyday with your kids!  Get all the books off the book shelf, pile 'em high, grab a blanket and read with your kids!  Studies show if you read with your kids everyday you will spark a lifetime love of reading.  There is so much to learn for people of all ages.  Turn off your TV and read.

[Dare to be nerdy]

From left:  Emma (reading), Joshua (sleeping), Ella (reading), Me (reading and drinking wine)

not a very good pic but this is us in bed last night.  Josh captured the moment for me.